A Hout Bay musician is excited to be performing a solo in the Youth Classical Concert at the Artscape theatre on Saturday September 2.
Daniel Hutton, 18, took a break between starting mock prelim matric exams on Friday August 25 and his first rehearsal the following day to chat to the Sentinel.
He has chosen to perform the Clarinet Concerto No 2, Opus 5 in F minor, by the Swedish-Finnish composer Bernhard Crusell (1775 to 1838) with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), conducted by Jacobus de Jager with concert master Philip Martens.
The Westerford High School pupil started playing the clarinet at 11 and is a pupil of Marike Grobbelaar.
“I researched and listened to many recordings to decide that this was what I wanted to play with the CPO,” says Daniel.
“I usually choose my own pieces and then run them by my teacher. This gives me the ability to play pieces which I am inspired to play, rather than forced to play, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to fully express the musicality that I want to bring out from the music.”
He says it is a “fairly difficult piece” with many running passages requiring fluency and accurate finger placement and breath control, and with some tricky jumps between different registers of the instrument.
“It’s a piece from the classical era that edges towards the romantic, so I play it straight and in time, but I do like to take some romantic liberties to add to the expression of the piece.”
The highlight of his year, so far, was winning the Yamaha Music Scholarship Competition in Dubai, in February.
“I can thank my dad, Alan, for setting me off on my musical path in junior school,” says Daniel. “At first, I was not highly motivated, but the change occurred in a high school concert when a connection occurred between me and my accompanist, another Hout Bay resident, Andrea Rutter. I realised how beautiful music can be when you work together with other musicians who want to create a wonderful sound.”
To those learning a musical instrument, he says, “Listen closely and try to understand the beautiful sounds that you can create with your instrument.
“Playing together with other young musicians is fun and develops your ensemble skills. And I would also recommend listening to the professionals to realise what you and your instrument can do.”
Apart from the clarinet, Daniel is also proficient on the piano and electric guitar and he composes his own music.
Living in Hout Bay, he enjoys cycling and walking in the surrounding mountains and visiting Llandudno Beach with friends.
Book through Computicket, Artscape Dial-a-Seat at 021 421 7695 or at artscape.co.za
Fine Music Radio will be recording the concert for broadcast on Saturday September 17, between 2pm and 4pm.
